A Young Woman's Heart

In fact, when hunting, catching wild game such as rabbits is the norm.

Firstly, rabbits reproduce quickly and are not considered protected animals. Moreover, rabbits are easily trapped and once captured, they have difficulty escaping.

Even wild boars, when caught in extremely powerful traps, can sometimes escape by dragging their trapped legs.

Moreover, even hunters in rural areas cannot eat meat every meal; meat is merely a seasoning for rural people.

In addition to hunting, most hunters also farm.

They simply don't usually grow grains that require careful cultivation; they generally grow crops like potatoes or sweet potatoes, which can be used as staple foods but don't require the same level of care as wheat.

Mo Xueyao and Duanmu Ji quietly followed behind the hunters.

She noticed that these hunters remained completely silent when they were carefully setting up their traps.

They have a high degree of tacit understanding; sometimes, a single gesture or glance is enough for them to understand each other's meaning.

But this tacit communication made Mo Xueyao feel a little bored, since she couldn't possibly understand the hunters' meaning with just a glance or a gesture.

Hunting was more boring than she had imagined.

She imagined hunting as a constant search for the prey's tracks, followed by a siege, sometimes even provoking a desperate resistance from the prey.

However, in actual hunting, most of the time you can't see anything and have to rely on experience to make judgments.

During the operation, silence must be maintained to avoid disturbing any potential prey.

After setting the traps, all that's left is to track down the prey.

Sometimes the tracks disappear. Don't think that animals are stupid; they can also cover up their movements.

In situations like these, hunting dogs come in handy.

They followed the scent of animal remains, leading the hunters forward.

"Wild deer!" Mo Xueyao exclaimed excitedly.

About a hundred meters ahead, we spotted a lone wild deer foraging for food.

However, the other animal was very vigilant. Even while grazing, its eyes were darting around, observing its surroundings.

And it doesn't eat grass all the time; instead, it puts the grass in its mouth first, then chews it while looking around.

"Shh—" the burly hunter gestured, "Don't talk, or you'll scare the prey away."

At that moment, the wild deer's ears twitched, as if it had sensed something amiss.

However, in order to replenish its food supply, it chose not to leave, but was prepared to run away at any time.

The hunting dogs lay down, awaiting their master's command.

Black King is the same; no wonder hunters say it's a good hunting dog.

However, just as the hunters were preparing to strike, the wild deer suddenly took off running at a speed that would probably require at least an electric scooter to catch up with.

The hounds were very excited and pounced on it, which was going to turn into an endurance contest.

However, wild deer are much more agile than hunters, after all, they are extremely familiar with the forest, and after a few turns, they disappear.

Although its lingering scent remains, catching it is not so easy.

"Ah, if only we could catch it," the young hunter sighed.

"Haha, you little rascal, you want to eat venison jelly again, don't you?" the burly hunter laughed loudly.

"Sigh, we only caught one wild deer last year, not even meeting the basic requirements!"

"There are already few wild deer in this forest, so catching them won't be easy. It's more practical to catch a few wolves to take home than to catch wild deer!"

Wolf meat actually tastes quite similar to dog meat, and it's less psychologically taxing to eat than dog meat.

Before they knew it, it was noon. The hunters began packing up to head back, checking the traps they had set along the way.

Unfortunately, no animals were caught.

The hunters seemed used to it; they rearranged the traps and prepared to go home.

"Aren't we going hunting this afternoon?"

"Well, we can't spend the whole day on this, there are other things to do, haha, and we need to go home for dinner too!" the hunter with the shortbow laughed. "Come on, we'll take you back to the main road!"

The so-called main road is just that asphalt road where cars can drive.

After saying goodbye to the hunters, Mo Xueyao and Duanmu Ji headed back to the villa.

Black King and Milk Candy walked at the front, as if they were scouting ahead.

"Hunting is so boring, it's completely different from what I imagined," Mo Xueyao muttered, holding the back of her head with both hands, while glancing sideways at Duanmu Ji walking beside her.

"Hmm." Duanmu Ji seemed to indicate that he shared the same feeling.

"I thought it would be a very tense and exciting experience, constantly chasing prey and encountering wolves along the way."

"It seems that hunting is only a side job for most rural people." Duanmu Ji scratched his head. "Shall we go back?"

"Hmm." Mo Xueyao looked up at the bright sun overhead. "The sun is already halfway up the sky. I'm a little hungry too. I wonder what to have for lunch today?"

Duanmu Ji did not answer, but stared at Mo Xueyao's calves in a daze.

And so, the two ended their rather uneventful forest adventure. Apart from the venomous snake, nothing else thrilling or interesting happened during the trip.

After all, real life isn't like a movie or a novel; you won't encounter any terrible dangers just by going into the forest.

As the hunters say, most of the time, whether it's a venomous snake, a wolf, or a brown bear, they all avoid humans.

The fear that ancient humans instilled in these animals through hunting is actually etched into their DNA.

Animals that attack humans are usually those that are desperately hungry; otherwise, they would never take such a big risk.

Perhaps in the eyes of animals, humans, especially in large groups, are the most terrifying creatures in the world.

Thinking about it carefully, that makes sense; otherwise, how could humanity have become the dominant species in the world?

Mo Xueyao didn't have much sympathy for the wild animals that might be preyed upon.

After all, in primitive society, the law of the jungle was the absolute rule.

"Speaking of which, there seem to be animal protection organizations abroad. If someone openly hunts and kills wild animals, there will be a group of people marching and protesting."

"Isn't this always the case abroad?" Duanmu Ji curled his lip. "There are all sorts of protests all day long."

“This shows that life is better abroad than here. At least most ordinary people are doing well, otherwise they wouldn’t have so much free time,” Mo Xueyao joked. The two of them had unknowingly walked out of the forest path and returned to the beach.

However, the beach was deserted. It should be eleven o'clock by now, and most people should have already gotten up.

"Is there really no one at sea?" Mo Xueyao muttered. "They can't all be sleeping, can they?"

"They should be having lunch." Duanmu Ji's stomach rumbled appropriately, making him cover it somewhat awkwardly.

"Perfect timing, I'm a little hungry too..." Mo Xueyao muttered, quickening her pace.

It was an adventure without any real danger, but for Mo Xueyao, it was still an interesting experience.

"Where did you go?" When she returned to the villa, Li Wanyan was sitting on a stone bench in the yard reading a novel. When she noticed Mo Xueyao walking back to the villa, she looked up and asked softly.

Although her tone was calm, it made Mo Xueyao feel inexplicably nervous.

"Well, I went for a stroll in the forest..."

Upon hearing this, Li Wanyan frowned: "That's very dangerous."

"It's alright, it's alright. This time I'm with a group of hunters; they know the area very well. By the way, have you had lunch yet?"

"It should have just begun."

"So late today?" Mo Xueyao chuckled and sat down next to Li Wanyan. "By the way, what are you planning to eat today?"

"A meal made to remember the bitter past and appreciate the sweet present."

"What is that?" Mo Xueyao asked in confusion.

"You'll find out soon enough." Li Wanyan patted Mo Xueyao's head. "Don't go into the forest alone next time."

"Okay—" Although she sometimes felt impatient with Li Wanyan, who always instructed her like a mother, she would listen to her most of the time.

The reason is hard to explain, or perhaps Li Wanyan herself has a charm that makes others listen to her advice?

After Duanmu Ji returned, he went back to his room alone, as if he really didn't want to be with Mo Xueyao.

"Time to eat! Today we're having a 'bitter-sweet' meal!" Mizuki Shih covered her mouth with her hands, mimicking a megaphone gesture, and shouted to the students.

The students, each doing their own thing, took a good ten minutes before they finally gathered around the dining table together.

"Is this what they call 'bitter memories and sweet presents' meal...?" Mo Xueyao picked up a cornbread bun. "It's alright... isn't it pretty tasty?"

The so-called "bitter-sweet meal" is simply a bowl of wild vegetable soup and a cornbread for each person.

But Mo Xueyao didn't find it difficult at all; on the contrary, she thought it tasted quite good.

The only thing that evokes a sense of bittersweet nostalgia is the limited supply, right...?

“We survived our toughest times by eating this kind of food,” Mr. Ye said in a deep voice, as if reminiscing about the past.

But Mo Xueyao didn't feel much.

Because that's basically how she's lived her life.

Eating dried plum vegetables and thin sweet potato porridge every day doesn't seem to be much better than this.

Perhaps, in this era, only the wealthy have the right to reminisce about past hardships and appreciate present happiness...

……

Chapter Forty: Meeting an Old Friend

It was a sunny day in Hangzhou. Although the weather forecast said it would be 36 degrees Celsius, people outdoors felt it was already around 40 degrees Celsius.

The fruit shop wasn't exactly thriving, but customers were constantly coming in to browse, so it wasn't too quiet.

Karen Mok had just finished lunch and was now sipping a glass of Shaoxing wine.

The ceiling fans inside the store were blowing loudly, but they didn't bring much coolness.